Think Big and Ignore the Naysayers
Your Idea Could Be Good
People often criticize new or ambitious ideas. But sometimes we need to ignore the naysayers and think big. Two years ago, I had what I thought was a crazy, but great, idea and told a colleague that I should quit my job — I wasn’t serious — and partner with a solar company to develop and market solar roof tiles. It turns out that maybe it wasn’t a crazy idea.
At the time, I had just read an article about a 13-year-old boy who was inspired one day when he noticed that leaves on trees turn toward the sun. He developed a “solar cell tree” — miniature solar panels arranged like leaves — that produces up to 50 percent more power than conventional photovoltaic solar arrays. His experiment was awesome, and it got me thinking.
Across the world — but especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where 600 million people lack access to electricity — people’s homes are covered with corrugated roofs. Could the wavy shape of these roofs be used to capture the sun’s rays in a more efficient way to power homes? Could their whole roof be an inexpensive, stackable, and easily transportable solar panel that could transform millions of lives? What about roof tiles? A naysayer told me that because solar panels are usually elevated from roofs to allow airflow, these ideas wouldn’t work. She explained that solar panels are most efficient at around 25 degrees centigrade.
Then last week, I realized I was onto something: Tesla announced that four types of solar roof tiles will start production in 2017 — including a curved tile called “Tuscan Glass.” Beautiful. Elon Musk is living my dream and I suspect that this idea was in development long before I envisioned a solar Spanish-tiled roof.
Supporting and scaling innovations is the goal of Power Africa’s newest Grand Challenge for Development: Scaling Off-Grid Energy, a partnership with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID), and the Shell Foundation.
The Grand Challenge is a $36 million investment to empower entrepreneurs and investors to connect 20 million households in sub-Saharan Africa to modern, clean, and affordable electricity. As part of the Grand Challenge, Power Africa’s partners, including USAID and DFID, supported Global LEAP in launching an off-grid refrigeration competition that will leverage $600,000 to catalyze technological advancements in off-grid powered refrigerators. In addition, with support from the Grand Challenge, startups such as PEGAfrica are expanding access to household solar solutions in West Africa by taking new approaches to digital repayments from rural customers.
USAID’s Grand Challenges for Development are designed to support innovators like that 13-year-old boy who may face challenges in getting their ideas off the ground. Let’s give them permission to think big and not let the naysayers deter them. Let’s provide them with the support they need to test and scale up their inventions.
Even with Tesla, some naysayers who claim to be experts commented that solar tiles are not new, that solar panels require ventilation, or that the insulation to keep the tiles cool could be bad for the environment. But no company with the brand recognition or the resources of a Tesla has invested in this technology. Can everyone please wait and give Tesla a chance to make it work? The market will speak for itself.
I hope that Tesla will work closely with Power Africa and other companies to see if it might be possible to develop affordable, stackable, and transportable roofs for those 600 million people living in sub-Saharan Africa, assuming the technology makes sense. Or help us come up with other ideas that can be commercially viable.
Many of our partners are working in rural communities where people pay for electricity using mobile phone payments — just as people are doing right now to pay for small rooftop solar panels. There is a massive market, and people will pay.
People with limited incomes in rural areas are paying for solar power, just like they pay for mobile phones and even satellite television. They are prioritizing electricity as a need. They are developing credit when making their daily or weekly payments by phone for their solar systems. They are better planning their days instead of waiting for the power to come back on or walking miles to charge a mobile phone.
And they are getting access to information that should help them become more informed politically and economically. Some are even powering their small businesses with solar-powered sewing machines, agricultural pumps, and electric razors. Power Africa and its partners are working to support these off-grid solar providers so that people can emerge from poverty.
Bring us your great ideas, and let’s start with refrigerators so that people can keep medicines and food cool anywhere in the world. If you have an idea for a highly efficient, off-grid fridge, don’t be afraid to think big — your idea could be a good one. Apply now.
About the Author
Andrew Herscowitz is the Coordinator for Power Africa. Follow him on Twitter @aherscowitz. Follow Power Africa on Facebook and Instagram.
